Planned Giving

Create a Legacy that Grows for GenerationsThe Hitchcock Woods are Aiken’s greatest treasure.

Hitchcock Woods is privately owned and managed by the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable nonprofit, funded by donor support. The Foundation was established by the Hitchcock family in 1939 to protect and maintain the Woods for the enjoyment of the Aiken community. The Hitchcock family’s original gift of land (1190 acres) did not come with an endowment and the Foundation receives no operating support from municipal, county, state or federal taxes.

Generous annual gifts to the Foundation sustain the day-to-day costs of managing the Woods, but do not allow for the unforeseen. Major storms, downturns in the economy, and individual projects necessary to protect and improve the Woods, can deplete the reserves, compromising good stewardship. Thanks to the generosity of a few, a small endowment exists, but your support is needed to build an Endowment Fund that will sustain and ensure the Foundation’s future work for generations to come.

All levels of endowment support are welcome. Your gift can be partially or fully directed to the Endowment Fund. When you designate the Hitchcock Woods Foundation Endowment Fund as a future recipient of a gift, you will become a member of the Woods Legacy Society.

Ways to Give

By including the HWF in your will or trust, you can make an important impact that doesn’t cost you anything during your lifetime, but is priceless as part of your legacy.

By using your IRA (if you are 70 and ½ years or older) you can make a gift during your lifetime from an asset that would be subject to multiple levels of taxation if it remained in your estate.

By creating a life income plan such as a charitable remainder trust you can continue to receive benefits from assets that later pass to HWF.

By designating the HWF as a beneficiary of part or all of a life insurance policy, or by donating a paid up policy you no longer need, you can fund a sizable gift with little or no effect during your life.

By creating a Charitable lead trust to pay income to the HWF for a fixed time, then pay the remainder to your heirs, you can reduce gift and estate taxes while still leaving a substantial part of your assets to your heirs.